Deliveries All Made

I managed all the deliveries last week, little Oliver's big sister took delivery of her Purple and Pink quilt with an added bonus of a little quilt for her favourite bunny made up from some of the leftovers.

The musical quilt went off to Phew.

LIttle Freya now has her quilts too, I am never sure how people will react to my quilts, especially when I'm asked to just make a quilt.  Everyone has different ideas of colours, shapes and styles so I usually make two or even three for them to choose which one they would like.  This time I made a small 25x25in car/pram quilt.  I was pleased with it but was it really what was wanted?  

Number two came into being, candy floss pink with sweet elephants, giraffes, crocodiles and lions roam this very girly playmat which was around 40ins square.  Too pale perhaps?  

I was on a roll and having great fun.  If anyone follows me here you will probably know I'm not a girly person, pinks do not normally feature in my quilts but for some reason just recently I've made a few pinks ones.  Moda Hi De Ho fabric sat on my shelf and shouted use me! So I cut up the daisies and dragonflies into squares and a few other strips of bright pastels from my stash and this cute stripey cot sized quilt materialised.  

Freya's Gran was delighted - so much so she wanted all three!!

I even managed the Linus delivery although it was a quick drop off on my way to do some shopping for Dad. Four quilts and a few knitted blankets will hopefully wing there way off to some children needing a little extra hug.  Here's just two of them

So my shelves are looking a bit bare now but no doubt it won't be too long until they fill up again.  My challenge quilt is coming along nicely and I have started yet another baby quilt tonight for a little boy this time.  

Our annual class outing was yesterday - a great day was had by those who were able to be there.  Lots of fabric, books, notions, were purchased, ideas found and stashed away in our heads for another day, cards were very flexible and purses all a lot lighter but I know, at least I hope,  I will see some lovely projects appearing over the next few weeks and months at class.  I look forward to seeing them all, I hope everyone will bring along their purchases on Tuesday to Show and Tell!

I hope you have had a productive week too.

A Challenging Challenge

Our quilt group challenge for this summer is entitled "Illusions".  The brief is a small quilt measuring not more than 24 X 24 inches.  Any colour, any shape, any technique. At least that is my understanding.  We were given this brief at the beginning of the year or. Indeed it may have been last September at the start of our session, and it's to be ready to show and tell this September.  Now, in the beginning I thought this was an interesting subject and all sorts of ideas buzzed around in my head.  As the weeks and months have gone past I have discarded each of my ideas in turn but I always return to the same one idea.  Well this week I have finally made a start.  I have had the fabric In my stash for a while and I have looked at it this way, that way, played with it and put it back on the shelf.  I've watched videos, read books, and instructions, made notes, read them again, changed the notes and eventually threw them in the bin and decided I could use my own method and make it up as I go along.........this may be dangerous!  So watch this space.

At class I have always encouraged everyone to think outside the box and do something a little different.  You can get bogged down when you do the same pattern time after time, or only make square blocks, or do applique, or don't do stars or triangles because you might cut off the points.  Sometimes you just need to give yourself a wee push and just do it.  Do something that tasks the brain and makes you think.  Well this project is certainly doing that for me and do you know what - I'm loving every minute of it.  Sadly I can't even give you a hint of what I'm doing, no one is supposed to know what each other is making, it will be fun to find out when September comes.  So if you are up for a challenge - why don't you try something different this week?  Learn something new, it doesn't even have to be sewing, try out a new recipe, bake a cake or just make time for reading a book.

I have finished all the baby quilts and just in time too.  Little Freya arrived earlier than expected and her quilt will be delivered this week.  I'll post photos in the gallery later.  I mentioned there were three quilts still to be donated to PHEW I've finished the musical one and it will be heading off to them later this week. We have reports that they are being well received and have even had a lovely note of thanks from one of the recipients.

Photo Bombing!!
Do you see the little blackbird which popped into the photo - they just love apples!

I hope to make one other delivery this week this will be a little bundle of Linus Quilts.  I have had a few sitting on my shelf for some time and my MIL has knitted some baby blankets so I will try and make the trip to deliver them to the regional coordinator on Tuesday.

It seems to be a sewing day today - it's tipping it down as I write this so after lunch I will be sitting at my sewing machine working on 'Illusions'.  Have a good week whatever you have planned.

Have You Ever..........

Let your mind run away with you to such an extent you almost missed a stage in the process?  Well I have been bashing away merrily enjoying the process of this little quilt.  

Made with a charm pack, no thought needed, top finished, sandwiched up, ready to quilt and bind.  Last night I got ready to quilt it lifted it and started to square it up and cut the sandwich to size.......... Hold on wait a minute, are you not supposed to quilt it first?  Duh!  Ok back to the drawing board or should I say sewing machine.  Quilted it lightly with the serpent stitch which is becoming a bit of a favourite, then went back to trimming it up.  Great!  

Pulled out the fabric I wanted to use for the binding, yep enough there then the clanger!  It wasn't full width of fabric.  

I had obviously used it in another project and low and behold there's not enough for this binding.  These little hiccups always happen when you are working to a deadline which just happens to be Wednesday coming.  Where can you find what you need on a Saturday night when the local quilt shop is closed until Tuesday and may not actually have what you are looking for?  No chance of ordering on line to be delivered next day.  Sleep on it!

This morning I woke up and remembered the new shop which has opened only half an hour or so away.  It is only open at weekends and by appointment.  A quick look on their website confirmed they were open 10am - 2pm today.  A little jaunt this morning took me to Hazel's Fabric Craft, a small bright compact shop, filled with lots of lovely fabrics, bright and cheery and a lovely welcome from the owner.  Hazel has a good selection of different ranges of fabric from Makower, Riley Blake, Michael Miller, Art Gallery to name a few, but don't go there looking for Moda she doesn't stock it.  She has a good selection of blenders and notions too and stocks Guterman threads and John James needles.  

Was I successful in finding the binding fabric for my current project - yes I was!  Of course I got a couple of other metre lengths just for my stash, I do like to support a new venture.  I don't think there is any doubt I will be returning for more fabric in the future..........not that I really need it.

So after I have my coffee I will be returning to the cutting table to cut my binding and all being well this deadline might just be met after all.  Before it is delivered to baby Oliver's big sister I'll take a photo and post the finished result on my gallery page and the binding fabric bought just in time! Here's the progress as I put it away for tonight. Two sides of the binding sewn down.

Moral of this story is always check your fabrics at the start for your project don't just assume it's all there, because yes your mind, and your fabric stash can play tricks. 

Hexagons Anyone.

I told you a few posts ago that I was making up a 'go to' box of tricks for our quilting group.  To allow anyone who was struggling over the summer months with their own projects to do a little simple stitching at class.  This little box holds everything necessary to make blocks from the New Hexagon Book.  This was a book we bought for the class last time we visited Kaleidoscope almost a year ago.  It has some lovely patterns and templates for paper piecing hexagons with a difference.

  

I think we have all tried making the usual hexis, cutting out the paper templates, covering them with fabric, tacking through the papers and stitching them together.  This book details a different method, for me anyway,  the templates are glued to the fabric and the fabric edges turned over and glued to the paper with fabric glue stick.........  Well it's worth a try is it not?  Much quicker at any rate!

In the true children's television programme fashion - here's one I made earlier

Papers glued in place and firmly pressed down...........and the right side 

This one has now been completed although I don't have a photo.  I will take a photo on Tuesday to let you see our progress. Some of the ladies thought it might be fun to try it too so a few more are in the making.  The plan is to make the large hexagons, (which measure about 5 ins). We are using scrap fabric of course, from our stash and trying to use the same colour family for each one.  Each hexi will be monochromatic, patterned fabrics are allowed but no mixed colours within a fabric or any one hexi.  Hopefully we will manage to make a couple of dozen or so and then buy fabric to join them all together with setting templates in a neutral solid.  

I have finished the other baby quilts and they await the new arrival.  I have also finished another 'musical' quilt for PHEW this week photo will follow.  I really need to start my 'challenge quilt'. It's all in my head at the moment but time marches on and I need to make a start, if only to see if my 'vision' or should I say 'illusion' really works.  

Hope you all have a good week.

Another Month

Half way through the year already, I can't believe we are into July and we still have it wet windy and quite cool.  I wish the grey clouds would just lift and give us some nice blue skies for a change.

I am delighted to report that on Tuesday evening our little band of quilters handed over 29 quilts to the lady from PHEW to be given to the teenagers who attend for respite. Didn't we do well and I know of at least and other three in the making.  A pat on the back to you all ladies!  We had a lovely evening rounded off by tea, cakes and shortbread.  I was overwhelmed by the quilts and D from Phew was blown away both with the number of quilts and the talent of the group members.  We have been beavering away since the beginning of the year and although we knew we had a few gathered we had not actually seen them all together nor had they been counted.  Each one was unique, no two the same.  We had farm animals, sailing boats, flowers, flying geese, bikes, space ships, rainbow colours, black and red, bright and bold, autumnal and cool blues. Stupidly I didn't get a photo showing all the quilts together but it was a magnificent sight and I am delighted to have helped give these youngsters a quilt to hug.  My gallery has been updated and the photos with a prefix (P) are the ones I made.

I am also happy to show you today the two baby quilts I made for baby Oliver.  The little sunny seaside quilt for his pram or car seat 

Sunny Seaside 30 x30 inches

and the bright jungle themed cot quilt.  

Playing in the Jungle 40 x 48 inches

They have now been passed on to him and I have it on good authority from his Nanny that Mummy and Oliver are delighted with them.  It won't be long before he is trailing them around and using them for make believe dens and tents.

All in all a successful and productive week.  I just love when the enjoyment I get making these little gems gets passed along for someone else to enjoy too.  I have a busy week ahead so not sure that I will get much sewing done but you just never know.